The Government have tabled a number of amendments
on Report intended to respond to points raised in Committee. This
memorandum explains those of the amendments which entail changes
to delegated powers. The draft text of the relevant amendments
is attached.

PART
1 - NHS FOUNDATION
TRUSTS

Elections to Boards of Governors

In Committee, their Lordships passed an Opposition
amendment to paragraph 6(5) of Schedule 1 requiring the Secretary
of State to make regulations specifying the electoral system to
be used in elections to NHS Foundation Trusts' Boards of Governors.
Government amendments propose to delete paragraph 6(5) and replace
it with a new clause introducing a broader regulation making power,
and specifying in detail what the regulations would cover - in
addition to electoral systems, matters such as nominations procedures
and supervision of elections.

Requirement to consult prior to authorisation

A number of concerns were raised by Lord Clement-Jones
and Baroness Barker at Lords' committee about the provisions in
the Bill requiring an NHS trust to consult before it makes an
application to the regulator to be an NHS foundation trust. An
amendment was tabled setting out consultation requirements for
"proposed applications": see column 662 of the Hansard
record.

As it currently stands, clause 6(4) of the Bill allows
the Secretary of State to make regulations requiring applicants
to consult prescribed persons about an application to be a NHS
foundation trust. The regulator may not give an authorisation
unless it is satisfied that an applicant has complied with the
regulations. The provision does not allow regulations to be made
requiring consultation before an application is made to the regulator,
but the Secretary of State can require a NHS trust or a person
proposing to make an application under clause 5 to consult before
he gives his support to an application.

While retaining the discretionary power to make regulations
in clause 6(4), we propose to amend the clause so that the regulator
must be satisfied that applicants have consulted with specified
persons before it grants an application.

PART
2 - STANDARDS

Allowing bodies to comment on draft reports

In response to points raised in Committee, we want
to provide for bodies to comment on the factual accuracy of reports
of CHAI and/or CSCI before they are published. We are conscious
that the amendments provide for nine new regulation making powers,
but we hope the Committee will understand the reason for this.
We want to be able to specify different consultation periods for
different functions and in different circumstances, depending
on the urgency of the situation for example. Because of the way
the Bill is drafted, this translates into amendments to nine separate
clauses, each containing a new regulation making power. In effect,
however, this is a single new power. In creating a statutory basis
to the requirement to allow bodies to comment, the amendments
go further than the equivalent procedures for other bodies such
as OFSTED.

Complaints

As well as tidying up the Bill for consistency purposes,
these amendments respond to a point raised in Committee to make
it clear that the complaints regulations under the Bill may make
provision requiring persons or bodies handling complaints, to
make information available to the public.

PART
4 - DENTALANDMEDICALSERVICES

Dental charges

Regulations under the section 79 of the NHS Act 1977
inserted by clause 179 may prescribe the way in which patient
charges can be made and recovered for dental services. For example,
the regulations may set a maximum charge and exempt certain treatments
from a charge. The regulations may also provide for the amount
that Primary Care Trusts, Local Health Boards or Special Health
Authorities pay back to dental clinics or practices to be reduced
by the amount that has been collected in patient charges by each
clinic or practice. In response to points raised in Committee,
these amendments would make the first set of regulations under
the new section 79 of the NHS Act 1977 subject to the affirmative
procedure but subsequent sets subject to the negative procedure.